


Arachnophobia

by Em_The_Anxious_Dragon



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Arachnophobia, Fluff, My headcanon is that the spider is named Aragog, New Years, Thomas is a HP fan so Virgil is a HP fan, because fight me, it's just fun fluff, that's why
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 17:41:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17248598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Em_The_Anxious_Dragon/pseuds/Em_The_Anxious_Dragon
Summary: Everyone knows Patton's terrible fear of spiders. Fewer understand how Patton has been struggling to adjust his relationship with Virgil in order to make his strange dark son- I mean friend- feel balanced. That means braving the horrors of Virgil's room and working together to plan a New Year's Celebration within the Mindscape. If Patton endured the Great Spider Threat of 2017, surely he could brave the room once more!But he didn't know about Aragog...





	Arachnophobia

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to write a short little Sanders Sides story to celebrate New Year's, and this idea came to mind. I know I still haven't finished my Deceit fic, but I'm not fully sure how to approach the ending since my feelings on Deceit have changed over time. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
> 
> Once again, this is a stream of consciousness story because I am too lazy to edit this.

Patton knew that he wouldn't be hurt in Virgil's room. Virgil would never allow anything to attack him within his domain. The fatherly side could almost hear Logan's voice in the back of his head, chasing him for his nervousness. If there was nothing to fear while in the room, why should he feel scared? But the problem was, there _was_ something to be scared of within the room. He didn't mean Virgil, Virgil would never do anything (even though he had reminded everyone how scary he could be during their big Nightmare Before Christmas celebration). It wasn't even the idea of the room corrupting him again. No, the thing about the room that Patton feared most was...

Spiders.

Tiny, crawling, spiders.

Spiders that hopped around dark rooms and spun webs to grab Patton as he walked by so they could spin him into a cocoon and suck out his blood and OH SPIDERS!

Patton shook his head like a dog, imagining the thoughts flying out of his head and fading away into the yellow glow of his room. He squeezed the Pound Puppy sitting on the couch beside him. He would be fine. If Patton had managed through the Great Spider Threat of 2017 and Virgil's horror show, he could manage to be in Virgil's room for longer than a minute. This was the perfect way for Patton to bond with Virgil in some good old-fashioned one-on-one time. He adored every moment he got to hang out with Virgil and the others in the Mindscape or in a video with Thomas, but alone time with Virgil was sometimes difficult to come around.

So, when Roman had suggested a New Years party, Patton had been quick to declare that he and Virgil would plan out the party. It had taken quite a bit of coaxing to get the preparation role away from Roman, but Patton was insistent. Even if he couldn't father Virgil, he could still father Roman and Logan. Those two had been doing such a great job helping Thomas with all the different videos he was planning, they deserved a little break! 

Patton hummed softly and picked up the old Pound Puppy, lifting it to eye level. The old stuffed animal had helped inspire his Halloween/Christmas costume. It now wore his 'Pawton' tag around its neck, held on by a cute little collar Roman helped make.

"I'll be fine," Patton laughed, flicking the dog tag. "It's just a room."

_You don't have to go to his room,_ Patton imagined the tiny dog said.  _He could come here instead._

"Last time he came into my room didn't end well, though," Patton sighed. "I don't wanna make him anxious by forcing him to come here."

_Why not plan in the living room? It wouldn't bother either of you then._

"It's gonna be a surprise! If Roman or Logan show up, they won't be surprised when the party happens, and I refuse to lock them in their rooms!"

_But Virgil doesn't want you to get corrupted._

"I won't be in the room long enough for that to happen! I promised Virgil I would leave if I got too anxious, remember?"

_No, I don't. I've been in your room._

"Oh, right, sorry! The point is, Virgil likes his room, and he was ok with me coming in there! It's a show of good faith. I want him to know that I'm not going to baby him, so if I don't do that when we're alone, he'll see I'm committed to that! I think that makes sense. I just gotta put on a brave face."

_Good luck._

"Aw, thanks, Pound Puppy!" Patton gave the stuffed animal a gentle squeeze and set it back onto the couch. He stood and padded over to his traditional spot near the window. Sure, he could pop into any location in the room he wanted, but he preferred his spot. It was traditional, after all. He grabbed a worn school-style notebook from the arm of the couch and tucked it under his arm. Smiling, he sank through his floor and floated into Virgil's room. 

That familiar unease tickled the back of Patton's neck when he appeared in front of the spider curtains. He tried to pretend they weren't there as he looked around the room. Some of Virgil's Christmas decor was still hanging around the room. At least, what Patton suspected was Christmas decor. The Nightmare Before Christmas posters hanging in Roman's spot had blinking purple lights surrounding their base. The room seemed to have way more spiderwebs than Patton remembered, covering practically every surface. He just had to imagine it like snow! Yeah, it was snow, snow that came out of a spider's butt. Ok that wasn't a nice image.

Virgil sat at the base of the dark staircase, crouched in front of a mess of New Years decor Patton had come up with already, including party hats (red for Roman, blue for Patton, purple for Virgil, dark blue for Logan, and rainbow for Thomas), those weird shaking stick thingies Patton often saw at New Years parties, and confetti. All of the confetti was now in shades of purple and black, instead of the rainbow Patton had picked out. He wouldn't complain- it would make the party look like one of those purple galaxies! Virgil looked up from the party supplies as Patton whooshed into the room. He grinned, filling Patton up with glee. He loved his kiddo. No, he couldn't call Virgil kiddo. What could Patton call Virgil that wouldn't be seen as too fatherly?

"Hey," Virgil said. He waved his hand to Thomas's spot and said "Have a seat." Patton sat criss-cross in the spot in front of the couch, his notebook resting in his lap. "What's with the notebook?"

"I don't wanna forget any of the ideas we come up with," Patton explained. "Let's get started! What do you want at the party?"

"Uh," Virgil groaned. "Halloween stuff? I dunno."

"We already did a Halloween celebration for Christmas, so let's try and include stuff more centered around the others, ok?" Patton suggested.

"Whatever you say," Virgil chuckled. 

"Maybe we could have a ball drop!" Patton exclaimed. "We get a big disco ball and have it drop with the New York one! We can watch it on TV!"

"And then when it's midnight, the ball explodes," Virgil said.

"With confetti!" Patton cheered.

"Or with actual fire and dynamite," Virgil suggested.

"Well we'd definetely start the year off with a bang!" Patton laughed.

"It would be a true panic at the disco," Virgil chuckled.

"Yeah!" Patton laughed, reaching for a high five. Virgil returned it.

"Think we can get Roman to sit on the ball as it goes down?" Virgil chuckled. "No, wait, he'll probably do that regardless."

"A disco ball filled with fireworks," Patton scribbled into his notebook. "And then the confetti rains down from the ceiling and covers everyone! What do you think Logan would like?"

"Not sure," Virgil said with a shrug. He said something else, but Patton's attention caught onto something in the shadows of the staircase. It was barely anything, a flicker of light within the darkness, but- no, something was there. "Pat?"

"Oh, sorry, what was that?" Patton stammered. "Did I miss something important? Oh no, I missed something important and now you're upset!"

"It's fine, I'm fine," Virgil said, holding out his hands. "Your eyeshadow started to appear. Need to leave?"

"I'll be fine, Evan Handsome!" Patton laughed. "Get it, Evan Handsome? Like Evan Hanson?"

"I got it, Popstar," Virgil chuckled. Patton's heart glowed, a giant smile on his face. The smile soon dropped, however, when he heard a skittering sound behind Virgil. The side perked up, looking over his back. "Oh, hey, bud." A brown mass the size of Patton's hand crawled onto Virgil's shoulder, eight legs stretching towards Patton, pincers clicking. Sirens went off in Patton's head as he leaped back onto the couch, standing up and crawling onto the back of the couch. Wait, that wasn't a siren, that was Patton's own screaming.

"SPIDER SPIDER SPIDER," Patton shrieked. "GET IT KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

"Woah, Patton, it's ok!" Virgil stammered, scurrying up and crossing over to Patton. The spider still sat on Virgil's neck, blinking up at Patton. Patton screamed again, crouching against the back of the couch and pointing at the spider. "It's ok! It's just my pet!"

"Your pet?" Patton stammered, trying to sink through the couch. "You- you have a pet spider?!"

"His name's Aragog," Virgil explained, holding out his hand to the creature. The spider crawled onto his palm. Virgil held it to his chest and gently stroked its back. 

"Aragog?" Patton whispered, horrified beyond all imagination. "Like the giant killer spider Aragog?"

"This one's harmless," Virgil explained. "He helps keep the spider webs fresh. In exchange, I feed him-"

"The souls of the innocent?" Patton shrieked.

"What, no!" Virgil stammered. "I feed him flies Roman makes."

"Roman knows about this thing?"

"Yeah," Virgil sighed. "He tried to steal my Nightmare Before Christmas posters a few days before Thomas dyed his hair and almost squshed him. He won't let me hear the end over my name choice. He actually tried to sort him, not surprisingly. Had to scavenge for flies myself until then."

"So," Patton stammered, half ready to cry (the room was certainly not helping the fear that was already deep in his soul). "He won't try to kill me?"

"He's harmless," Virgil said. 

"Why a pet spider?" Patton asked, slowly relaxing. "Why not a nice little dog, or a cat, wouldn't a cat work for you?"

"I'm Anxiety," Virgil sighed. "Thomas fears spiders, so of course one pops up in my room. Kinda had to learn to make peace with him. He's a chill little guy, long as you feed him. He gets cranky when he's hungry, covers my food or stuff I'm using in webs until I can't see it. He breaks them when he's gotten his food." The spider rubbed against Virgil's fingers like a cat against a leg.

"Ok," Patton sighed, trying to calm his racing heart. "That's fine. Just... please keep it away from me."

"Well," Virgil sighed. "Aragog kinda... lives in the curtains?"

"Nooooooo," Patton sobbed, almost feeling the eyeshadow grow under his eyes. 

"He just really likes the darkness and it's warm under there and oh that's not gonna help," Virgil stuttered. "Let's get you out of here. Go chill, little guy. Be back soon." Virgil walked over to the mess of webs in front of the kitchen and reached his hand towards them. Aragog crawled off his hand into the webs. "Know what to do, Pat?" Patton nodded, gripping the sleeves of his cat hoodie. He took a deep breath for four seconds, held the air inside for seven, and as he breathed out for eight long seconds, he let himself slip back to his room. 

He appeared on the floor next to his window, nestled in the warm glow of his room. That familiar burst of happiness soared through his body, slowing his racing heart and calming his fried nerves. He wiped away the anxious tears that had gathered in his eyes as Virgil popped into his spot next to Patton's collection of Thomas's old journal entries, concern darkening his eyeshadow.

"Are you ok?" Virgil asked.

"I'm fine now," Patton sighed, standing and stretching his arms. "I was definitely not expecting that."

"I'm sorry Aragog scared you," Virgil muttered. "I should have told you about him."

"It's ok, Virge," Patton reassured him, sitting down on his couch, nestling under his collection of stuffed animals. "He's your pet, so he's allowed to wander around your room. Wanna sit?" Patton patted the spot next to him on the couch. Virgil moved some of the stuff on the coffee table aside and sat on that instead.

"I didn't want to freak you out by telling you about him," Virgil admitted. "That kinda failed, didn't it."

"It's a lesson learned," Patton said. "So, uh... how long has Aragog been your... pet?"

"Long as I can remember, really," Virgil sighed. "He's always been in my room. Used to call him Mr. Scary Legs until Thomas read _Chamber of Secrets_."

"That's... nice."

"You don't have to like him. He just means a lot to me. Back before you guys took me in as part of the group, he... he was kinda my only real friend. Sad, I know."

"Aw..." Patton whined, giving Virgil puppy dog eyes. Virgil shot him a look. "Sorry."

"Like I said, he was my first friend. But, since you were my second friend ever-"

"Awwww!' Patton whined, smiling.

"You don't have to see him again. I'll tell him to stay hidden when you're in there. He's a smart little dude, he'll understand."

"Oh, I don't want to make him hide in his own room! If he's your friend, then... then I can be ok with him. I almost wanna thank him for being there for you!"

"I can bring him here so-"

"NO!" Patton schreeched so loudly, Virgil jumped on the coffee table, shoulders flying up to his ears. "I mean... you can tell him I said thanks." Virgil sighed and smiled at Patton.

"Fine by me," Virgil sighed.


End file.
